Gloria Itzel Montiel was born in Guerrero, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States permanently at the age of eight. She became the first student from Santa Ana High School to attend Harvard College, and graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor’s degree in English and American Literature and Language. She returned to Harvard for a Master’s Degree in Learning & Teaching and became the first undocumented student to graduate with such degree in 2011. In May 2017, Gloria became the first undocumented student to graduate from the Claremont Graduate Unviersity with a Ph.D. in Education Policy, Evatluation and Reform. Her dissertation was a qualitative study of the identity and college experience of 41 undocumented students attending 19 selective, private colleges across the United States. In her academic work, Gloria has also explored the effects of an undocumented status on the identities of Filipino students. Gloria’s professional background includes six years in community building, program management and fund development. She currently serves as the Grants & Contracts Coordinator at Latino Health Access, a public health organization in Orange County, California.
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